An early Louis XV gilt-bronze and brass mounted kingwood veneered commode, circa 1720-1730, stamped later by Jean-Charles Saunier
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
opening with three short frieze drawers and two further long drawers, the sides adorned with brass fluting, the corner ‘espagnolettes’ mounts decorated with female heads and cherubs, ending in lion-head feet with large scrolls, the apron adorned with clasps, the handles and escutcheons with foliage motifs, with a shaped Brèche d’Alep marble top, stamped I.C. SAUNIER
Haut. 87 cm, larg. 147 cm, prof. 68,5 cm ; Height 34 ¼ in, width 58 in, depth 27 in
Related literature
J. Nicolay, L'art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français, Paris, 1986
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIᵉ siècle, Paris, 1989
A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Paris, 2003
Jean-Charles Saunier, cabinetmaker, became a master craftsman in 1743.
The richness of the bronzes adorning this commode is exceptional. It is, however, difficult to attribute their creation with certainty, as such bronze mounts circulated among the greatest cabinetmakers of the period. The most illustrious example is undoubtedly François Mondon (1694–1770), who supplied several bombe commodes to the Crown through Gaudreaux and later Gilles Joubert, cabinetmakers to the King. One of these is illustrated in J. Nicolay, L’art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français, Paris, 1986, p. 330, fig. C. Another was sold at Christie’s, New York, 21 October 2004, lot 144.
The feet adorned with a leaping lion are also found on firedogs by Charles Cressent (1685–1768), cabinetmaker to the Regent, from the Ennery sale of 1786 and illustrated in A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Paris, 2003, p. 206. Cressent also used this motif on certain clock brackets. Several unstamped commodes decorated with these feet have appeared at auction, including one sold in Paris at the Hôtel Drouot on 5 March 1993, lot 84, and another sold in Paris at the Hôtel Drouot on 15 June 1994, lot 194.
A similar commode formed part of the collections of the Château de la Boulidière, although some of the gilt-bronze mounts differ.
Among the works stamped Jean-Charles Saunier is a Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted kingwood commode bearing the stamp of Jean-Charles Saunier, bequeathed by Charles Colman Tyrell Giles (1892–1953) and now preserved at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (inv. W.5:1 to 7-1954). The museum suggests that this commode may have been made before Jean-Charles Saunier obtained his mastership and may have passed through his workshop only at the time of a restoration. The stamp would therefore potentially have been applied by Saunier several years after the commode’s original manufacture, which may thus have been executed by another cabinetmaker, possibly in the 1720s–1730s. The same applies to our commode, which is stylistically comparable to that of the V&A. It appears more closely related to production dating from the very beginning of the Louis XV period, notably through its opulent bombe form, known as tombeau, and the use of kingwood marquetry arranged in trellis patterns. Our commode notably echoes a commode stamped by Mathieu Criaerd, dated circa 1730, sold at Replica Shoes ’s, Paris, 28 June 2022, lot 74.